1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector for a vehicle which has improved assemblability and hermeticity.
2. Background Art
In a vehicle, connectors are used to connect wires as electric lines. The connectors for a vehicle are divided into non-waterproof connectors which are mainly used in the passenger compartment and waterproof connectors which are used in the engine compartment. The non-waterproof connectors are manufactured without considering leakage of water from outside while the waterproof connectors must have waterproof seals applied thereto to prevent the water leakage.
That is to say, the non-waterproof connectors are used in the passenger compartment where it is not necessary to worry about the water leakage, and the waterproof connectors are used in the engine compartment where the water leakage is likely to occur. Therefore, various units disposed in the engine compartment must use the waterproof connectors for preventing the water leakage.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional waterproof connector 100 has a female connector member 110 and a male connector member 120 which are coupled to each other so as to electrically connect the female terminals 112 of the female connector 110 and the male terminals 122 of the male connector 120 with each other. Wires 114 and 124 are connected to the female terminals 112 and the male terminals 122, respectively.
However, in the conventional waterproof connector 100, due to the presence of a waterproof seal 130 provided therein to prevent the leakage of water, when coupling the female and male connector members 110 and 120 to each other, it is not easy to fit the male connector member 120 into the female connector member 110; substantial force is required. That is to say, in the conventional waterproof connector 100, when coupling the female and male connector members 110 and 120 to each other, air in the waterproof connector 100 cannot be easily discharged due to the presence of the waterproof seal 130. Consequently, since air in the waterproof connector 100 is compressed, substantial force is required to couple the female and male connector members 110 and 120 to each other, decreasing the productivity in the assembly of the waterproof connector.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art that is already known to a person skilled in the art.